On vacation day number seven we docked
in the port of Basseterre, Saint Kitts, also known more formally as Saint
Christopher Island. It is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the
island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic
Ocean. Where the two bodies of water meet, you can see the waves going in
opposite directions. A ring road goes around the perimeter of the island with
smaller roads branching off of it; the interior of the island is too steep for
habitation. The highest peak is Mount Liamuiga, a dormant volcano.
We selected to go on the “Rail &
Sail” excursion, but we got tickets for the “Rail” excursion by mistake, oh
well … we make whatever we do fun! This excursion is one of the highlights was the island
of St. Kitts. The narrow gauge
railroad was constructed beginning in 1912 to connect the island’s many sugar cane fields and sugar mills at sugar plantations.
The finished product was then loaded onto
ships that transported the sugar to markets around the world.
The St. Kitts sugar industry declined and
after 350 years the industry died off.
With sugar cane shipments almost dormant, investors opened the St. Kitts
Scenic Railway to offer sightseeing tours of the island beginning
in 2003.
The owners of the railway modeled the tour train after the White Pass
& Yukon train operation at Skagway, Alaska.
As with Alaska’s train tour, the cruise industry has been a boom for St.
Kitts Scenic train. Today the train ride covers 18 miles as it circles
from the northwest coast, along the northern coast, to southeastern St.
Kitts.
Along the way the tracks pass
sugar cane fields, tropical forests whose canopies encircle the tracks,
villages of colorful houses and stone churches, and ravines crossed by tall
steel trestles.
Ocean views are
plentiful during the journey as are friendly locals who enthusiastically wave
at the train.
The trip starts right at the
dock aboard shuttle buses painted and lettered for the St. Kitts Scenic
Railway. We climbed onto a bus, it is a bit odd to see the driver’s seat on the other side of the bus! Our bus driver was Eustis Franz. He narrated the scenic
highlights as we pass through several villages, a tree filled with egrets, and
a scenic spot where we can see Brimstone Hill Fortress high above on a
hillside.
The fortress is part of the
island’s history which saw it change hands multiple times between the British
and French. We learned about “Bloody Point.” In 1623, Sir Thomas Warner brought his family and others, to an island inhabited only by native peoples. Less than two years later Pierre Belain d'Esnambue led a small group of French settlers to the island. Within a year, blood flowed. This eruption of violence wiped out the entire native population of Arawaks and Caribs. It was an out and out massacre at what is now Bloody Point. Once the English and French had the island to themselves, they expanded their sugar and tobacco plantations at will, and began bringing in African people to serve as slaves. This is why St. Kitts's rich culture was influenced by the peoples of Africa, Europe and the Caribbean itself. He was a very friendly and informative driver. His favorite sayings were "All is well, Mon" and "We be OK, Mon." I think he said them at the end of every sentence!
Eustis dropped us off at the
community of Fig Tree, where we boarded the train.
Our train consisted of five double decker cars, pulled by a petite diesel
engine and assisted by a power car that provides electricity to the passenger
cars. The 500 horsepower engine came
from Romania while the power car was built in Colorado. The passenger cars were constructed in
Seattle especially for the St. Kitts Scenic.
Passengers can choose to sit in the open air upper level which contains
padded bench seats along each side of the car or downstairs in wicker chairs at
tables where they can enjoy air-conditioning and large picture windows.
Our departure point at Fig Tree is
located on a balloon track which allows trains to reverse direction without
having to run around a wye. We leave and
can see Mt. Liamuiga, a dormant volcano, to the east. Later the rails pass through
sugar cane fields that once were part of the island’s leading industry. Soon we pass stands of coconut palms and note
various forms of wildlife. Some passengers spottted monkeys roaming the forested terrain as over 40,000 monkeys
make St. Kitts their home. We travel the coast near Willet’s Bay and pass through the village of
Dieppe Bay a few minutes later, where the black sand beaches from the volcanoes are visible.
The winding line rail offers many
opportunities to watch the diminutive engine with its steam engine-like drivers
moving its wheels. Our car attendant
delivers complimentary piña coladas and rum to passengers as we see the Atlantic
coast and set a southeasterly course.
She also offered locally produced sugar cakes to everyone. A trio of
local singers entertain the guests on our car’s upper level with a medley of local
songs.
Soon the tracks pass through a grove
of almond trees and emerge near the village of Tabernacle. As has been the case for most of the journey,
the ocean is on the left side of the railway while mountains dominate the view
to the right. A sharp curve reveals the impressive
300 foot long Christ Church Bridge, one of four steel trestles in the final 60
minutes of the trip. Each of these
towers over a ravine below and the rails navigate around a curve entering
and/or leaving each trestle.
The second trestle, set among a
banana grove and views of a black sand beach appear to the left after exiting
the structure. Grange Bridge is traversed a couple minutes later and we learn
that it is 90 feet tall and 200 feet long.
The train travels over the fourth bridge and soon the sights become more
industrial as the rails turn inland. We pull to a stop at Needmust, close to
the island’s international airport; this stop also is built on a loop. Within minutes we board the same buses that
we rode from the ship to Fig Tree and within ten minutes we are back in
Basseterre where “Independence of the Seas” is docked.
St. Kitts Scenic Railway is a great
way to view the island of St. Kitts. The
hospitality of the on board personnel coupled with nice scenery provide a
unique Caribbean activity. The tour guides of the railway gave
us a beautiful tour of the area.
Since sugar was once the most important
crop to St Kitss, I want to talk about it a bit more. It was used to make molasses and rum, and to sweeten the
cuisines of people around the world. And
because sugar cane grows in warm, tropical climates, the Caribbean islands were
the perfect places to grow it. European
settlers from England, France, and Holland came to the region, cut down
the islands' forests, and planted sugar cane. St. Kitts with its rich volcanic
soil and an ideal climate, made growing easy. Annually St. Kitts yielded a
fortune in sugar and rum for its wealthy, mostly absentee,
landholders. By
around 1775, the time of the American Revolution, 68 sugar plantations existed
on St. Kitts, one for every square mile.
The plantation owners sold their sugar products to American, British,
French and Dutch customers. They are also credited with production innovations
that led St.Kitts to become the world leader in sugar cane cultivation, and a
catalyst for the industrial revolution. The persistent arguments, outcries, and
writings of three prominent English residents of St. Kitts, are said to have
influenced the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807 more than any other
factor. And with the total elimination of slavery throughout all the British
colonies in 1834, came the end of the sugar industry. Europe's beet sugar
undersold Caribbean cane. Depressed market prices could not offset the
production and transportation costs for an island crop. In 2005, due to
plummeting profits, the Government closed both the cane fields and sugar
factory. The sugar train railway is now home to the St. Kitts Scenic Railway, a
unique tour that takes visitors through many of the plantation ruins.
It was a very enjoyable day on a beautiful island.
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